PM Narendra Modi biopic: Makers move Supreme Court to challenge Election Commission's ban on film

The makers of Vivek Oberoi-starrer PM Narendra Modi  on 12 April moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s (EC) ban on the biopic till the end of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. According to Asian News International, there will be a hearing of the case on 15 April.

Makers of biopic 'PM Narendra Modi' move the Supreme Court against the stalling of the film's release. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case on April 15. pic.twitter.com/QWh6CnPOlb

— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2019

The election watchdog had previously ruled that no biopics can be released during elections as the political content in such movies “threaten level playing field”. The  decision to stall  PM Narendra Modi came on 10 April, a day after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) granted the the film  a ‘U’ certificate . The biopic was initially scheduled for release on 5 April.

PM Narendra Modi, directed by Mary Kom maker Omung Kumar, courted controversy since the release of its trailer, with various political parties saying that releasing it before the general election would be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

The film stars Rajendra Gupta as Modi’s father,  Manoj Joshi  as Amit Shah,  Prashant Narayanan  as a fictitious business tycoon named Aditya Reddy, Zarina Wahab as Modi’s mother and Barkha Bisht Sengupta as Modi’s wife. Boman Irani and Yatin Karyekar also feature in prominent roles.